Dienstag, 2. Juni 2015

Buchtipp – Neuerscheinung

„Wer denken will, muss fühlen. Die heimliche Macht der Unvernunft.“ von Prof. Dan Ariely


Prof. Dan Ariely – Israeli, der viele Jahre als Professor für Verhaltensökonomie in den USA lehrt.

In seinem Buch präsentiert Dan Ariely die Adaptation der israelischen Philosophie „immer die goldene Mitte zu suchen“, um zu erklären, wie wir bei der Entscheidungsfindung unseren Instinkten und irrationalen Reaktionen gerecht werden können. Die Leitidee des Buches lautet: Wir glauben, dass wir Entscheidungen vernünftig treffen, doch tatsächlich lassen wir uns von Leidenschaften leiten. Wer die Irrationalität jedoch annimmt statt sie ausschalten zu wollen, wird nicht nur bessere Entscheidungen treffen, sondern sogar in Harmonie leben.

Dienstag, 19. Mai 2015

National Interests of the Russian Federation and Ukrainian Crisis

Russian strategy and geo-political interests: basics and new elements


The basics of the Russian geopolitical strategy don’t changed 500 years. The significance of the ports on the Black Sea, control of the territories in Eastern Europe and Asia. Today stretched geopolitical interests of the Russian Federation are towards the CIS states, Central and Eastern Europe, the Black Sea and the Asia-Pacific region1. Like in the times of the Peter the Great the main Russian Federation’s goal after the collapse of the USSR stills to bring back a control into strategic important regions of the former Soviet Union: Baltic region, Caucasus, Ukraine and East Europe. The control on these regions is from the Russian point of view a guaranty of the security of its national interests. Every military involvement of the Western countries is explanting as a danger to national interests of Russia.

The central goals of Russian foreign policy were and are also (fully) re-establishing Russian economic potential and preventing disintegration of the state, and, as a result, promoting the re-emerging of the state’s international status. In other words, a healthy and strong economy with defensive military muscles2. The Russian Federation stretched toward more influence on the international economics and policy. The Russian policy maker see in enhancing of the economic potential a mechanism of political influence, kind of``economic instrument of national power``.

The CIS regions are considered by Russia to be areas of vital national interest and the Russian Federation will control of transnational transportation networks, which are one of the most vital conditions for Russia’s economic prosperity3. Ukraine has an important role in Russian foreign and economic policy. Ukraine is a bridge to the European Union and on relationship with Ukraine depends income of Russian natural resources business with Europe.

The current Russian strategy focuses on strategic presence and prestige and so the need to re-asset Russian Great Power. One of the central principles of the Russian strategy is ``sovereign democracy``, which offers stability, asustainable future and independent foreign policy, promoting Russian states interest and upholding Russian identity, representing in values, political and strategic culture4.

The National Security Concept of the Russian Federation provides a framework and context within which all other foreign and security doctrines, concepts and guidelines fall5. The document defines national interests in the internal politics, society, military boarders and others fields of social and political life.

The Military Doctrine of the Russian Federation makes more concrete the military directives of the Concept and addresses internal and external military threats6. Russia is able to use military forces not in order to neutralize direct threat, but in order to stop political acts, which could be explained as anti-Russian policy, and the policy against Russian minorities. A readiness to employ military forces against political activities as a basis of legitimacy of using of military power in the local conflicts in the states of the former USSR. The support of pro-Russian forces in Ukraine bases on that capstone of Russian military strategy.

(...)

1 Isakova, I., (2013), Russian Governance in 21 st Century: Geo-Strategy, geopolitics and governance (New York: Taylor & Francis Group), p. 25
2 Ibid, p. 31
3 Isakova, I., (2013), Russian Governance in 21 st Century: Geo-Strategy, geopolitics and governance (New York: Taylor & Francis Group), p. 24
4 Herd ,G. ``Security Strategy: Sovereign democracy and Great Power Aspirations`` in Galeotti M. (ed.), (2013),The Politics of Security in Modern Russia (Surey: Ashgate Publishing Ltd), S. 25-26
5 Ibid, p. 27
6 Ibid, p. 27

veröffentlicht unter Strategie